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Balancing Homeschool and Life

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Written by Erin Vincent of Nourishing My Scholars.

Balancing homeschool and life is tricky. Especially when life gets hard. Is it even possible to achieve?

Balancing Homeschool and Life

How can we balance homeschool and life?

Meet Merl. Merl is the combination of six loads of laundry that I finally caught up on and dumped on our couch…. I had every intention of getting the laundry folded.

But, every time I’d glance in the general direction of that pile of laundry something else (i.e., ballet, guitar lessons, math lessons, dinner, barn chores, etc.) would demand my attention.

For all those moms out there that can do it all and not get overwhelmed or behind, I commend you! You are a fabulous rock star!

I, on the other hand, am not.

It’s been several days now – the laundry on the couch. Just looking at me.

Enough is enough!

So I put my husband’s baseball cap on top and dubbed our laundry Merl!

Hello, my name is Erin, and I have a huge pile of laundry that I can’t seem to get folded, so I gave it a name and a personality. Then I took the time to write about said laundry instead of folding it…

That’s not weird, is it?

Merl just kinda sits there. Like a lump on a log. Judging me.

He doesn’t help out around here, and I’m pretty sure he has a sock obsession and is sneaking them out of the house…

Possibly through a closet door into Narnia.

I’ve given him a 30-day notice to vacate the premises before I take some sort of legal action.

It’s not weird.

Balancing Homeschool and Life

Is balancing homeschool and life even possible?

Before you pass judgment on my housekeeping skills, allow me to explain.

Life.

It happens!

To All Of Us.

Plus someone really needs to invent a dryer that dries and folds the laundry for you.

There are different seasons of life that we all encounter as mothers. Everything from new babies, new jobs, moving, job losses, illness, and everything in between. Sometimes families are enduring incredible hardships and losses. Sometimes life is hard.

All of us are trying to balance it all: homeschool, marriage, housekeeping, motherhood, work, LAUNDRY…

Is a balance even possible?

Honestly?

It all kinda ebbs and flows.

Imagine a tightrope walker (you) on a tightrope…now imagine someone (life) flicking the tightrope really hard! The tightrope walker is going to jerk back and forth trying to regain his balance.

Some days you may lean more to one side (homeschool) than another (housekeeping). Next week may be different than next month.

There was this one time where I got the laundry washed, dried, folded and put away all on the same day!

I know, right? I felt like an EPIC laundry NINJA!

But I’ve never felt like I had motherhood all balanced at the same time.

Balancing Homeschool and Life

What if we emphasize making memories instead?

This week the laundry has gotten away from me. Yet the children and I have read some amazing books together and played fantastic board games. They’ve learned about ponds and had a dance party in the front yard. And, we packed most of our belongings for our upcoming move into our new house.

My first priority, always and before anything else, is my family. Even when life gets hard…I focus on love.

[clickToTweet tweet=”My 1st priority always and above anything else is family. Even when life is hard I focus on love.” quote=”My first priority, always and before anything else, is my family. Even when life gets hard…I focus on love.”]

Loving my family and their unique needs. Loving my neighbors. Helping where I can.

So, for now, the giant laundry pile named Merl can hang out on my couch and judge me. I doubt the kids will remember him in years to come. What they will remember is the snuggles, kisses, spontaneous dance parties, and love that surrounded them.

And in the end, those memories are all that really matters.

How do you balance life and homeschool?

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Erin Vincent is a homeschooling mom to two intense kids. They are child led with a heavy emphasis on read alouds, games, art, nature hikes, and hands on science! They traded the hustle and bustle of city life for the quiet farm life where opportunities for exploration in nature abound. When they're not homeschooling you'll find Erin curled up with a cup of coffee and a good book!. You can find Erin at Nourishing My Scholar.

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3 Comments

  1. THIS! A million, bajillion times YES. I have a growing pile of laundry on my couch even as I type (and there may also be a full basket or two lying around…) Thank you for sharing this encouragement!! It’s wonderful to know I’m not the only one who ebbs and flows with productivity in certain areas. <3 <3

    1. Isn’t it wonderful to know you are not alone? I know it always makes me feel better. Sadly, Merl is nolonger with us…he was separated, folded, packed away, and moved to our new house. But it’s funny because, for the entire week he took up our couch, the entire family referred to him as Merl! “Hey Merl, anything good on tv?” “Merl, scoot over! You’re taking up the whole couch!” “What’s up Merl?” LOL!!!

  2. I totally agree and can definitely relate. I grew up with very little training in keeping a clean house or in even picking up after myself. Ten years of marriage and four kids later, I struggle big time with managing my household while being consistent with homeschooling. Because of all this, I am learning the hard lessons of cleaning up after myself while trying to teach my kids to do the same. It’s been, in a word, CHAOS. But we’re geting better all the time through having systems in place with clearly communicated expectations and consequences. Then the housework is more manageable and it does wonders for my emotional state, which affects the mood of everyone in the house! Now we have more TIME for relationships and it’s easier for me to make those memories because I know everything will get done eventually. That being said, there are many things that get left undone (I blame the toddler) and that’s okay. But having systems in place has been life-changing for me. Hope that helps someone :).

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